“If you were ever a child of Brodas, you remain one for life.” V. K.

Vytautas Kernagis (1951–2008), an actor, pioneer of sung poetry in Lithuania, composer and performer, director of events and television host, referred to himself simply as an artist. The root of the Kernagis phenomenon is the multi-layered nature of his personality and talent. In his work, everyone finds something that resonates personally. Kernagis brought meaning and quality to creative fields that, during the Soviet period, had been marginalised or trivialised. He succeeded in reshaping attitudes towards sung poetry and light music, and in creating an innovative, intellectually engaging persona as an event director and host.

The beginning of Kernagis’ creative story is inseparable from the legendary Vilnius Brodas, then Lenin Avenue and today Gediminas Avenue. In the 1960s and 1970s, this was a gathering place for hippie-minded, creative, free-thinking young people. For almost thirty years, Kernagis lived near Brodas, on Kaštonų Street, then called Zigmo Angariečio Street. His room in his parents’ apartment became the epicentre of Kernagis’ life and work, and of this exhibition. The exhibition’s main themes revolve around the reconstructed Kernagis’ room: Brodas, life on stage, including the cabaret Tarp girnų, Dainos teatras, the events he directed and hosted, television shows launched at the beginning of Independence, travel, and humour.